Wisconsin Ag Connection - Emerald Ash Borer Found in Whitewater

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Emerald Ash Borer Found in Whitewater
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 07/08/2013

Jefferson County will be quarantined for emerald ash borer after the tree-killing insects were found just on the other side of its border with Walworth County.

"What we have found is enough to tell us that EAB is, in all likelihood, present in Jefferson County," said Brian Kuhn, Plant Industry Bureau Director with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture. "The insects will spread naturally at a slow rate, but we're taking steps to try to prevent humans from speeding up that spread, or allowing EAB to leapfrog to new areas by being carried on firewood or other products."

In late June, the insects were found in a tree removed from the grounds of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and identified by Department of Natural Resources staff. The city of Whitewater and the campus straddle the Walworth-Jefferson county line, and the tree was about 750 yards inside the Walworth County line.

On July 1, a DATCP specialist worked with the UW-Whitewater grounds crew to remove a tree on the Jefferson County side of the campus. They did not find any insects, but the tree did show tunneling, or "galleries," under the bark and D-shaped holes that are evidence of EAB infestation.

Walworth County is already under quarantine, because EAB has been identified in other municipalities there. However, this is the first time it has been found in the city of Whitewater.

The quarantine will apply to all of Jefferson County. It prohibits wood products from being moved out of the county to areas that are not infested.

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